Always Got Your Back
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Ben's best friend comes to visit him and both have a lot to catch up on, but one thing's never changed: they've got each other's back. Done as a request for Wanli8970. :)


**Wanli8970, who owns Sophia "Sophie" Grace Young, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)**

 **Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel.**

* * *

 **Always Got Your Back**

Rachel came to the front door just in time to see the mail come flying up the mail tube and land in the mail basket. Smiling, she picked up the bundle of mail that the mail carrier had been kind enough to band together with some strong rubber bands to keep it all together. Taking it to the kitchen table, she began sorting it out. "Let's see, a letter for Snare-Oh and Kuphulu from their parents, a letter for Four Arms, a letter for Upchuck…,"

She kept listing off the names of the aliens and soon had all the letters neatly organized. Four Arms came downstairs to accept his mail and took some of the letters to deliver to the other aliens, something Rachel was grateful for. Snare-Oh and Kuphulu also helped with that as there was a lot of mail that day.

Rachel came upon three more letters. "One from my uncles…wonder how they're doing on that speech expo they're at? Hmm. One for Nanomech… ah, must be that news he was waiting on, and one for Ben."

After giving Nanomech his letter, Rachel found Ben in the living room. "Hey, Ben. You got a letter today," she said, handing it to him.

"Oh, thanks," he said.

Rachel opened her letter and smiled as she read that her uncles were doing well and were having a good time and were hoping to be home in the next week. Beside her, Ben suddenly sat upright, making her jump a bit. "Ben?" She asked in surprise.

"I don't believe it," he said, his voice slowly becoming more excited. "She's coming to visit. She's coming to visit!"

From the happy look on his face, Rachel was guessing it was a person Ben knew well. "Who's coming to visit?" She asked.

"My best friend I've known since preschool," he said, quickly pulling out his wallet and finding a picture and showing her. "This is Sophia, or 'Sophie' for short. She's the only girl I hung out with in school."

The older woman smiled. "You two became fast friends?" She asked.

"Fast friends and best friends," he said. "When I was younger, I used to say she was the only girl in the entire world who was cootie free."

Rachel laughed in amusement, fondly remembering her younger years in grade school when the little girls and boys were afraid of getting the other's cooties and would run if the other came by. "Oh, the 'he or she has cooties' deal," she said, chuckling. "So she was the only girl you'd hang out with?"

"Yup," Ben said. "I remember when I first became friends with her. She came up to me and began talking and I was a bit taken aback by her straightforward, bubbly personality, but when Cash was making fun of me and she came out of nowhere, punching him in the face and they went rolling in the mud, I warmed up to her.

"She's totally not afraid to get her hands dirty, even though she's completely girly. In fact, if someone has a problem with their car, she'll be the first to offer to help them."

"Sounds like the kind of girl who's got a girly side, but isn't afraid to prove she's tough," Rachel said.

"Got it in one," he said. "She's stuck with me through thick and thin. She was even there with us when I first got the Omnitrix and she jumped right in to help me be a hero, even taking on bad guys with her grappling hook. I've lost count how many times she's made both bullies and bad aliens retreat after giving them bruises, human style."

"Wow," the owner of the Grant Mansion said in surprise. "Sounds like someone I'd want on my side when dealing with enemies."

"Definitely," Ben said. "But she's very responsible too while having a fun side, like you, Rach. She loves to have fun, but when she has to take care of something, she does so wholeheartedly."

That made Rachel smile. "So she's coming to the Mansion?" She asked.

"Actually, she's coming to Bellwood, but I was going to bring her here. Is that okay?" He asked.

"Of course," she said. "If she was there when you became Ben 10, then she knows about good and bad aliens, right?"

"Yes," he said. "I better call Grandpa, Gwen, and Kevin. They'll want to know she's coming, especially Kevin."

"Why do you say that?" Rachel asked.

"Sophie would punch Kevin in the face every time she and I met up with him when we were younger."

That made the older woman laugh in amusement before she got up to tell everyone that they were going to have a guest coming to the Mansion.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ben called his grandfather. "Grandpa, guess who's coming to visit?" He said excitedly.

From the tone of his grandson's voice, Max had a good idea. "Is it our little Sophie?" He asked. "Though, she's not little anymore, is she?"

"Nope. She's gone to Beverly Hills High to study art," Ben said. "But she's finally able to come for a visit."

Max smiled again. "Are you going to take her to the Mansion?" He asked.

"You bet! I've got so much to tell her and she'll flip out at seeing so many aliens living under one roof," the hero said. "By the by, have you heard from Gwen and Kevin?"

"They're right here beside me, although Kevin is looking like he'd rather be elsewhere after hearing Sophie's coming."

"That girl could never say 'hi' without punching me," Kevin said grumpily.

"I remember that," Gwen said. "Because you were so mean as a kid."

He looked even grumpier at that, making her laugh. "Hey, Ben, ask Sophie to not punch Kevin this time, please?" The red-head girl asked sweetly.

"Okay, cous," Ben said in agreement. "She's coming in tomorrow."

* * *

Everything was ready and Rachel even decided to have a barbeque for lunch. Everything was cooking nicely when Ben pulled up on his motorcycle with a passenger behind him. Dismounting and taking off their riding gear, the inhabitants of the Grant Mansion saw the girl had blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin with freckles on her face. "Whoa, Benji. You didn't say you stay at a mansion!" She said excitedly.

"Well, it's actually Rachel's mansion, but it's like a second home for me and a lot of other people," he admitted.

Sophie looked down and saw Ditto nearby and squealed. "No way! A Ditto!" She said, racing forward and picking up the Splixson, hugging him.

"Whoa!" He cried out in alarm before seeing it was just her and he looked surprised. "Um, hi. Sophie, right?"

She nodded with a big smile before seeing some other aliens that she knew well from when Ben transformed into them. They were all taken aback by her excitement and surprised when she hugged them, unafraid of them. Even the Galactic Monsters were a bit shocked to see she wasn't afraid of them, but she did freak out a bit when she saw Ghostfreak. Ben quickly intervened. "It's okay, Sophie. He's not the one that we battled. He's different and one of my best friends," he said.

She didn't look completely convinced until she noticed that a small child came up to him and he picked her up. "Who's that?" She asked Ben softly.

"His adopted daughter," the hero said. "He's got a fiancée and they adopted the little girl a while back."

That helped her calm down a bit and her bubbly personality came right back as she continued greeting them all. "She's definitely something else," Way Big said with a chuckle after she had greeted him without any fear.

Ben looked a bit sheepish. "She can be a bit weird sometimes, but that's what makes her such an awesome friend," he said. "It's hard not to like her."

The aliens were finding that to be true as even Rook got surprised by Sophie, who hugged him and seemed very happy that he was Ben's partner.

As the barbeque continued and they all learned a bit more about her, the aliens began warming up to Sophie, some of them even mock-fighting with her and finding that she evenly matched them. Snare-Oh noted that she'd make an excellent Plumber if she chose to join, something that made her beam with pride.

Just as they were thinking about going inside to watch some movies, trouble came in the form of Dr. Animo, who was riding on a giant fly. Sophie was shocked. "This sicko is still around?" She asked Ben. "What is he? About a hundred?"

Ben chuckled lightly at that. "Not sure, but yeah, he's still causing trouble," he said, transforming into Heatblast.

"Let's do it then," she said, turning to the aliens. "You guys get that giant fly. Ben and I will get Dr. Animo."

In just mere moments, the aliens had the giant fly down and Frankenstrike shrunk it down to normal size and Ben and Sophie faced the evil doctor, who glared at them. "You two are thorns that I plan to deal with right now!" He said. "Especially the weak little girl."

"Who are you calling weak and little, Dr. Wacko?!" Sophia asked angrily, ready to charge.

He laughed. "There's plenty of flies around," he said, holding up a bottle of liquid.

"Sophie! Grab that bottle!" Ben said, quickly blasting the ground near the doctor before transforming into Ditto and jumping at his enemy.

Swinging her grappling hook around, the young girl caught the bottle and quickly ran over to Rook, giving it to him. "Nice grab," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," she said, holding up her grappling hook. "It's never failed me."

She then saw Ben needed a hand and jumped into the battle, punching Animo hard as Ben destroyed the doctor's equipment and both gave him the boot down the hill and into Plumber custody. "Whoo-hoo!" Sophie whooped as she glomped Ben. "Got him again!"

He laughed and hugged her back. "We sure did," he said.

The others were amused by the display, but could see how strong the platonic friendship between the two was and how they always had each other's backs.

"She's quite a friend to have," Whampire said with a smile.

"Yes, she is," Rachel answered.

"One of the best," Ben said as he came up with Sophie beside him and she went up to Kevin, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

"Hi," she said.

He gave her a look, but then shrugged. "At least you didn't punch my face," he said.

"Watch it, Kevin," she said with a warning look. "That can change."

He grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, making her screech in surprise. "Four Arms, grab her!" He said.

As the four-armed alien accepted her from the young man, Sophie managed to wriggle free and chased after Kevin, promising to get him for that stunt, making everyone else laugh in amusement.

Sophie was definitely a girl they were glad to know.

* * *

 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


End file.
